134 years ago today, on 22 April 1887, a cyclone struck the pearling fleet at Ninety Mile Beach near Broome claiming 140 lives. The storm was unexpected, as it was late into the season, so the fleet had very little warning of the approaching danger.

So here it is, SWS’s TOP 5 ALL TIME CLASSIC MOMENTS AFLOAT! If you have a film featuring a wooden boat of which you are particularly fond, let us know. Preference given to craft of the Southern Hemisphere.  It’s all up for debate and your input.

What John Wilson doesn’t know about Tiwi Culture, the land and sea is not worth knowing. This quiet gentleman is a walking encyclopaedia of local knowledge. John is gifted with smiling eyes that draw you in and leave you wanting to know more, such as the story of Australia’s oldest boat.

If you are perhaps needing motivation to push on with your own restoration or naturally a night owl, it could well be worth registering for The 2021 Classic Boat Awards, an online event that due to it’s location, unfolds in the wee small hours of a Southern Hemisphere morning.

This is the third and final article in Charlie Salter’s series on Architects and Woodenboats.

The second article in Charlie Salter’s series highlighting the  relationship between architects and wooden  boats.

Jorn Utzon, the Danish architect of the Sydney Opera House grew up in a world of boats. Sailing, living and working near the water was a three generational activity for the Utzon family.

“Many of us are driven by the beauty that relates to pursuit of purpose.... boat design across many cultures is an almost perfect study of vernacular.” Australian Architect, Richard LePlastier

it was at sea, aboard the wild rose, that golding could escape the demons of class, inferiority and what we might now call post-traumatic stress that haunted him all his life.

…And I think this is why we also love, sail and chose to be the custodians of old boats – in doing so we are connected to something bigger than ourselves, a bigger story, a continuous story…

I must admit I’m slightly fascinated by the blooper as we used to fly one on the first keelboat I ever crewed, an S&S Defiance, in the 1980’s.

There was a time in Greece when after much Retsina, I packed my bag and shouted - ‘That’s it! I’m leaving!’

Whatever date you believe Australia Day should be celebrated, it’s a great opportunity to recognise people in our community - and here, particularly - in our sailing community.

However, as a photographer I have always enjoyed the concept of Instagram…Of course, 95% of it is drivel…however, in the wooden boat community there are a few feeds that educate, inform and amuse.

I am!

…Into the nothingness of scorn and noise // Into the living sea of waking dreams…// John Clare 1848

…Somewhere in this spectrum fits Tim Severin who died three weeks ago in West Cork, Ireland. In my teenage years I read “The Brendan Voyage” a few times, relishing his account of both the research and the execution of his greatest adventure…

The photographs and article come all the way from Hungary.  The images speak for themselves of family bonds, of patient learning, of persistence and of dreams. This is the story of Eight And A Half.

With just a week remaining in this bizarre year, it would have been surprising if there wasn’t a twist in the tail of 2020.

Every week you’ll find snippets of stories from around the globe. This week in Flotsam - The AGE profiles Wyruna.

it’s good to see that despite the cancellation of the 2021 Australian Wooden Boat Festival, the organisers led by Paul Stephanus, have decided to go ahead with the spectacular biennial Parade of Sail on the Derwent. on Sunday 7th of February 2021.